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Auto alternatives for the 21st centuryFri, 09 Dec 2016 20:46:09 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.4GECO Fuel Consumption Reducing Apphttp://www.hybridcars.com/geco-fuel-consumption-reducing-app/
http://www.hybridcars.com/geco-fuel-consumption-reducing-app/#commentsMon, 23 Jun 2014 14:52:37 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=161201The advent of telematics and new technologies mean a lot can be done with your smartphone right on up to reducing your fuel consumption. IFPEN’s engineers said they have used innovative scientific algorithms to design GECO, an application aimed at reducing fuel consumption at the wheel. IFPEN stands for IFP Energies Nouvelles, a public research […]

]]>The advent of telematics and new technologies mean a lot can be done with your smartphone right on up to reducing your fuel consumption.

IFPEN’s engineers said they have used innovative scientific algorithms to design GECO, an application aimed at reducing fuel consumption at the wheel.

IFPEN stands for IFP Energies Nouvelles, a public research and training player. It sates it has an international scope, covering the fields of energy, transport and the environment and that from research to industry, technological innovation is central to all its activities.

GECO, said IFPEN, has been designed to guide drivers on their urban trips, helping them to adopt more fuel-efficient and eco-friendly driving behaviors. The objective? To reduce fuel consumption without necessarily reducing average speed. Their target is a 10 to 15 percent in fuel savings. The research firm states that by consuming less, drivers will spend less but they will also reduce their pollutant and CO2 emissions.

Using smartphone sensors, the application computes in real time the ideal driving behavior to adopt, on the basis of the specific trip, added IFPEN. It is then compared to the actual behavior adopted by the driver. The screen displays the driver’s score and energy performance and offers real-time advice aimed at improving overall driving. An online community of GECO-drivers 2.0 will also allow drivers to compare their results and become “Eco-drivers”.

Created as a free application, GECO is said to offer an approach that is innovative (based on algorithms that evaluate driving in real time), flexible (with driving advice, numerous calculation parameters and an automated assessment) and very easy to use. Fitting with current trends and eco-responsible, IFPEN said this application prefigures the integration of functionalities of this type in the so-called “connected” cars of the future.

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/geco-fuel-consumption-reducing-app/feed/0November EV Sales Approach 12-Percent In Norwayhttp://www.hybridcars.com/november-ev-sales-12-percent-norway/
http://www.hybridcars.com/november-ev-sales-12-percent-norway/#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 06:38:52 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=99345Norway reported its best-ever sales in November for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at an astonishing 11.9 percent of its total new car market. This is the first time the country topped 10 percent, and compares with 3.1 percent a year prior. While the actual number sold last month for the country of 5.1 million people […]

]]>Norway reported its best-ever sales in November for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at an astonishing 11.9 percent of its total new car market. This is the first time the country topped 10 percent, and compares with 3.1 percent a year prior.

While the actual number sold last month for the country of 5.1 million people and sized slightly bigger than Montana was only 1,434 units, the rate at which it’s transitioning to BEVs is an international case example.

Small on the geographical map as it is, the country looms heads above any other in abandoning petroleum, and the speed at which its citizens are foregoing traditional internal combustion cars appears to be rapidly accelerating.

To put 11.9 percent in perspective, the U.S. November tally wound up at around 4,000 BEVs delivered – about one-third of one percent of around 1.2 million passenger vehicles delivered. If Norway’s accomplishment were transposed here, it would mean around 143,000 new electric cars roaming America’s streets in just the past four weeks.

Top-10 global BEV sales, 2012.

No wonder Tesla has quickly established an assembly plant in the nearby Netherlands. Indeed, the luxury BEV maker – bolstered as it has been in the U.S. by pre-orders to fill – beat the existing best-selling Nissan Leaf with 527 units. Nissan sold 512 last month, and had been heads above all others.

Among traditional cars, Volkswagen sold 666 Golfs.

To date the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association (NEVA) estimates 19,000 BEVs are in Norway, but the sudden progress has been a relatively long time coming, and certainly not a random anomaly.

Source: EV Norway.

At the end of 2012 there were only 9,500 BEVs and 330 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) estimated on Norwegian roads. That itself was a big jump of 4,359 units, but sales in 2012 were but 3.1 percent of the Norwegian total.

In 2011, BEV sales constituted just 1.6 percent of all new passenger vehicle sales.

In August 2013, BEVs were 6 percent of new car sales, previous estimates were for 5 percent this entire calendar year, and as you can see in November, nearly 12 percent were sold.

It’s been said the policy induced BEV “revolution” in Norway could not be duplicated in the U.S. due in part to dysfunctional American politics, not to mention a host of other reasons.

The Kingdom of Norway has the political will to incentivize BEVs with a capital “I” – not to mention it enjoys the most expensive gasoline in Europe.

Policymakers around the world have been invited nonetheless to learn lessons that may be applied a la carte – such as at the state level, or nationally.

A message Norwegians have offered to western policymakers is BEVs are more than about going green, as they offer energy security and other economic development opportunities including industry and job creation.

Also, as China and India rapidly seek to emulate western lifestyles, they will affect the geopolitical climate, price of oil, could also to become dependent upon potentially tense relations with oil producers, So, say Norwegian BEV advocates, what’s not to like about domestic non-polluting cars?

BEVs – and PHEVs – are however viewed primarily in Norway as a means of reducing CO2. According to current projections, the country’s fleet is on target to be emitting 85g/km or less by 2020, beating Europe’s goal of 95g/km.

‘Push’ and ‘Pull’

Presently Norwegian consumers are being enticed with a carrot and stick.

That is, the carrot is for eating, and the stick is for beating them into going green. OK, that’s an exaggeration of terms, if not metaphorically pretty accurate – and undoubtedly proponents see relief and opportunities provided by BEVs not possible before their advent.

A paper presented at the 27th Electric Vehicles Symposium (EVS 27) in Barcelona last month more benignly describes policies that both “push” and “pull” to make the total cost of ownership (TCO) as good as or better than for conventional cars.

Automobiles have always been expensive to own and drive in Norway for a variety of economic reasons and the thrust to reduce carbon emissions by increasing the percentage of non-emitting vehicles began all the way back in 1989.

As of the implementation of the most recent policies, among top benefits for electric car owners in Norway are:

A survey found no single BEV incentives as preferable, and motivations came down to individual needs. However, 17 percent rated purchase tax exemptions as one of the most important.

As of June 30, there were 4,139 public charging stations and 67 CHAdeMO fast chargers in addition to privately owned home units, and of course these numbers are still increasing fast.

It’s been said Norway has also a distinct advantage for BEV owners in that population is clustered in metro areas. This is true, but the average Norwegian drives 26 miles a day, and 15 percent of EV-owning households own only one car. Most however have two, three or more cars which means the BEV tends to be the daily local driver.

According to a poll of its over 7,000 members, NEVA says:

The typical Norwegian EV user is a middle-aged family father with higher education and income, and he owns a Nissan Leaf as one of two cars. He uses his electric car on a daily basis instead of a traditional petrol or diesel car. He uses the electric car for commuting, after work activities, and not for longer holiday trips. He agrees on that his electric car saves him money and time and he is very satisfied as an EV owner. His next car will also be electric.

The infographic depicts Norway’s BEV adoption timeline, but in brief, Norwegians began driving proverbial road-legal golf carts first with NiCad batteries but soon looked for other sources as cadmium is too toxic. They then evolved to nickel-metal hydride (NiMh) power that was less problematic, Saline batteries, and now are making do with lithium-ion which Americans are becoming accustomed to – with many sticking their noses up at these as well.

As recently as 2008, charging infrastructure in Norway was scarce. From 2009, the Transnova funding source launched a national EV infrastructure program and Oslo did so locally, quickly increasing the infrastructure.

Range in kilometers. Source: EV Norway.

After heavy investments in 2009 and 2010, infrastructure proliferated a bit more slowly in 2011 and 2012 just as the first of the present generation of BEVs was being launched, or in the development stage, in the case of Tesla’s S.

Norwegians were primed and ready, even as they had since learned that range estimates are less than advertised by the NEDC ratings, particularly in cold and mountainous regions.

Early adopters had long-since figured things out, and with the advent of cars that looked more normal, and boasted amenities like back seats and air-conditioning, things have been snowballing.

Reports have it that beyond ideally suited city centers, BEVs are now on the increase at a faster rate in the rural areas as the BEV fire spreads to the countryside of the least densely populated country in Europe.

Projections by Gron Bil based on currently in-place incentives are that by 2020, BEVs could comprise 12 percent of all vehicle sales and PHEVs could reach 18 percent to round out to 30 percent plug-ins in just the next half-dozen years.

Given last month 12 percent was the BEV total, perhaps projections for a moving target will need to be revised?

Showcase For All

We could go on documenting nuances of Norway’s ongoing shift away from internal combustion, but suffice to say the Scandinavian nation appears like it’s becoming convinced.

It’s a tiny nation though, and while domestic BEV makers have sought a tentative foothold, it’s not a large enough market to sway global automakers all by itself which is part of why its advocates are reaching out to share knowledge gained.

In sum, it’s adoptable plan includes numerous policies hitting all angles to coax the transition away from the entrenched petrol-based industry, and make it worth it for all concerned to jumpstart the new plug-in industry.

The goal is to increase supply and demand until incentives can be weaned away, but we’ve seen what half measures and infighting in the U.S. have gotten so far, including a presidential goal of 1 million EVs and PHEVs by 2015 that’s been laughed at by some.

But if anyone is laughing in Norway, it’s over success and progress, with real hope and change in sight.

For more info, you can click here, and if willing to sign up for concise and informative pdf downloads, here and here.

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/november-ev-sales-12-percent-norway/feed/0Ford Cut CO2 By 37 Percent Since 2000; Aiming For 30-Percent Less By 2025http://www.hybridcars.com/ford-cut-co2-by-37-percent-since-2000-aiming-for-30-percent-less-by-2025/
http://www.hybridcars.com/ford-cut-co2-by-37-percent-since-2000-aiming-for-30-percent-less-by-2025/#commentsFri, 14 Jun 2013 14:33:19 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=60283Between the year 2000 and 2012, Ford Motor Company’s own analysis of its environmental progress revealed it cut CO2 emissions by 37 percent. Looking at the decade and a half between 2010 and 2025, Ford says it expects to whittle back CO2 by an additional 30 percent. These results followed the company’s 14th annual Sustainability […]

]]>Between the year 2000 and 2012, Ford Motor Company’s own analysis of its environmental progress revealed it cut CO2 emissions by 37 percent.

Looking at the decade and a half between 2010 and 2025, Ford says it expects to whittle back CO2 by an additional 30 percent.

These results followed the company’s 14th annual Sustainability Report that evaluates its corporate citizenship as a producer of cars and trucks, and as a manager of resources and thousands of employees in its global facilities and working environments.

The voluntary report also examined Ford’s ability to reduce water use and energy consumption, as well as progress in cutting the amount of waste-to-landfill at Ford facilities around the world.

These were not around in the earlier years of the study’s time span examined, but are expected to contribute to gains made going forward. Ford says average vehicle tailpipe emissions on a per vehicle basis have dropped 16 percent since 2007.

To date, Ford says globally its facilities cut CO2 by 4.65 million metric tons, or 47 percent since 2000. As part of an Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers program, Ford says it also met its commitment to reduce U.S. facility emissions by 10 percent per vehicle produced between 2002 and 2012.

“In the more than 30 years I have been with the company, I have seen genuine transformation as Ford has integrated sustainability into its business plan, products, operations and relationships with stakeholders,” said Robert Brown, vice president, sustainability, environment and safety engineering. “Water and energy use, waste-to-landfill, Ford’s role in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases like CO2 in our atmosphere – these are just a few of the top sustainability-related priorities considered in every decision.”

Other key points or achievements Ford reported upon include:

• Trained 325 suppliers in sustainability management in 2012 as part of Ford’s Code of Human Rights, Basic Working Conditions and Corporate Responsibility; nearly 2,100 suppliers have been trained through the program
• Reduced waste-to-landfill by 19 percent per vehicle between 2011 and 2012, part of a plan to cut the amount of waste-to-landfill 40 percent per vehicle by 2016 (baseline is 2011)
• Reduced global water use by 1.95 million cubic meters from 2011 to 2012. Based on regional water cost estimates, this yielded more than $3 million in cost savings
• Cut global use of water per vehicle produced to 4.3 cubic meters (one cubic meter equals 264 gallons) in 2012 – down from 4.7 cubic meters in 2011 and 5.1 cubic meters in 2010. The company targets a 2 percent reduction in 2013 and continues working toward cutting water use 30 percent per vehicle by 2015 (2009 baseline)
• Reduced global water use by 62 percent between 2000 and 2012 – equal to about 10 billion gallons
• Established a five-year objective to improve operational energy use per vehicle globally by 25 percent by the end of 2016 (2011 baseline)
• Improved global energy efficiency by 6.4 percent against a 2011 year baseline normalized for weather and production levels